Whiskey Lullabye
by The Raven2
Summary: Umi and Clef, after forced seperation, find comfort in the same way. Rating for death by unusual means.


This is my very first Rayearth fic, and my first songfic. I hope I did it right! Please let me know what you think. Oh, and I don't own Magic Knight Rayearth or the song "Whiskey Lullabye."  
  
"I can't see you anymore. It's just....it's just not right. You're the Master Mage, I'm a Magic Knight..." Umi's voice trailed off as her courage shrank. She had been determined to tell him this to his face, looking into his eyes. But she found she couldn't. Those eyes stared at her, telling her the folly of her words. She choked, but managed to get it out. "I'm sorry. Good-bye." "I see. Very well, Magic Knight from another world, I bid you farewell." She caught her breath at Clef's use of her formal title. She watched him walk away, her head still bent, peeking through the curtain of blue hair. As he rounded the corner, his head still held high, she turned on her heel and fled, sobbing.  
  
She put him out  
  
Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette She broke his heart  
  
He spent his whole life trying to forget  
  
Clef stared out the window of his study, lost in thought. There had been so much pain in her eyes, but steel determination as well. That was what he loved about her. She always set out what she meant to do. Even if it meant killing the person she loved. He didn't know why she left him. He really didn't even care. She wouldn't have done it if she truly loved him though, would she? He banished that train of thought. He pulled off his headdress, ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up every which way. She loved it when he did that. She would always spend hours playing with it. He shook his head angrily, and slammed a fist into the table. Why? What had he done so wrong that she would do this to him? A glint of sunlight caught his eye, and irritated, he looked up. A bottle of wine sat on his desk, set there by him earlier. Beside it, a vase with a single white rose and two crystal glasses. Meant to celebrate their five year anniversary. He felt in his pocket, and pulled out the small box. He started to open it, than swiftly slammed it shut. Before he could think anymore, he hurled it out the window, turning to the wine. Swiftly pouring himself a glass, he tried to forget.  
  
We watched him drink his pain away  
  
A little at a time But he never could get drunk enough  
  
To get her off his mind  
  
Ferio knocked at the door of the small cottage, hunching his shoulders against the cold, whipping rain. His green hair looked black in the dim light and his golden eyes were worried. Fuu and Presea, both bundled up in cloaks behind him, shivered. He wished Hikaru had been able to come, but she and Lantis had found trouble in the north. Umi....he didn't even let himself think of that. She was the cause of all this. He knocked again and yelled. "Clef! It's Ferio!" Finally, the door opened, slowly, reluctantly. Ferio and the two women stepped inside gratefully, and the door slammed shut behind them. A tall figure was slumped in a chair in front of the fire. The flames reflected off the violet-white hair, bereft of the normal golden headdress. A few empty bottles rolled at his feet, and another half-full one dangled from his fingers. "Clef?" Fuu said quietly, tiptoeing forward. Presea stayed behind, choking down a sob. He had been like this for more than a year, ever since the Council had informed Umi that she could never be with him again. Clef had never found that out. He hadn't stayed long enough at the palace for anyone to tell him. Now, they were afraid to, afraid to shatter what little peace of mind he had. Fuu shook him gently, and the bottle fell out of his hand and clunked to the floor. Ferio scooped it up before it spilled, and then caught a whiff of what was inside. "Whiskey," he said softly. Presea gulped, eyes brimming with tears. "He's asleep," Fuu said quietly. Ferio nodded and gently picked up the former mage. Clef was taller than Ferio now, but he was whisper thin, wasting away. "Will this ever stop?" Presea whispered.  
  
Until the night  
  
A small boy ran panting to the palace, gold curls disheveled by the run and gold eyes creased with worry. "Mama! Papa!" Ferio ran out of the palace, followed by his wife. The boy bent over, his hands on his knees and gasping for breath. "It's alright, what's wrong?" Fuu asked, kneeling before him. "Master.....Mage....Clef....." the boy panted. Gold and green eyes met, and Ferio swore softly. "Hikaru! Lantis! Presea!" he yelled as he ran through the palace. The three ran out of their rooms, took one look at his face and followed him back to his son and wife. "It's ok son, just stay here. We'll be back." The small party streaked through the forest, finally arriving at Clef's home. The heavy door was still swung open and as they stepped into the room, bottles rolled away from their feet.  
  
He put that bottle to his head  
  
And pulled the trigger And finally drank away her memory Life is short, but this time it was bigger  
  
Then the strength he had to get up off his knees  
  
"Oh no," Presea whispered, stopping at the door, and almost vomiting. She backed out of the room, and Ferio slid past her. He stared. Clef lay in the bed, his face, for the first time in 3 years, peaceful. A bottle had slid from his hands and landed beside the bed, the last bit of whiskey slowly trickling onto floor. Fuu whimpered, and turned away. Hikaru was sobbing, her face buried in Lantis's shoulder. Ferio stepped forward and closed the mage's sightless eyes. "Rest in peace my friend."  
  
We found him with his face down in the pillow  
  
With a note that said "I'll love her till I die"  
  
As he closed Clef's eyes, Ferio noticed a bit of parchment clenched in the man's hand. Gently pulling it from his fingers, he caught his breath as he read the script. Fuu, curious, stepped forward, her eyes still brimming with tears but able to stand the sight now. Wordlessly, he handed it to her, and she burst into a fresh round. "Oh, poor poor Clef." Ferio wrapped her in his arms, and when Lantis extended his hand, he handed it to him. Hikaru read it with him, her voice a bare whisper, shaking as she read the equally shaky writing. "I'll love her till I die. –Clef."  
  
And when we buried him beneath the willow  
  
The angels sang a whiskey lullabye  
  
"And so, we all mourn the passing of a powerful mage, a wise advisor, and most of all, a good friend." Ferio, the Prince of Cephiro, finished his speech and bowed his head. Fuu stood off to his side with her arm around the shoulders of their little boy. Hikaru and Lantis clung to each other, tears tracking their way down Hikaru's face. Presea, Ascot, Caldina, Lefarga, and the rest of the people who lived in the palace of Cephiro stood silently. Representatives of Fahren, Chizeta, and Autozam were also there, mourning the passing of the great mage. Only one was conspicuously absent from the gathering under the immense weeping willow tree. The Magic Knight of Water, who had broken the man's heart. The Magic Knight of Fire glanced towards the palace, and saw on the balcony the blue-haired girl. Even from this distance, Hikaru fancied she could see the tears. When Umi saw her watching, she suddenly whirled and fled into the palace. She turned her attention back to the funeral, and joined the others in sending him off in peace. She summoned a small ball of fire, and threw it into the grave. It would forever burn, but would not burn anything around it. A testament to the mage's teaching, that gave her that skill and precision. A small whirl of wind followed it, sent by Fuu. Fuu then stepped up, quietly and without attracting attention. She slipped something into the grave, then stepped back as the rest of Cephiro added their tokens of memory. But beside the ball of fire and swirl of wind, an ever running, tiny waterfall splashed endlessly on. Tears of the Water Knight, who had loved him.  
  
The rumors flew  
  
But nobody knew how much she blamed herself For years and years  
  
She tried to hide the whiskey on her breath  
  
Umi sat in her room, utterly miserable. The whiskey bottle in her hand twirled with the movement of her fingers, catching the light of the sunset in different ways. A knock at the door made her sit bolt upright and quickly stash the bottle in the desk drawer. Snagging a piece of gum from the pack always sitting there, she hurried to the door. Rapidly chewing, she hesitated a moment before calling, "Who is it?" "It's me, Fuu." "And me!" Hikaru added. Umi sighed and opened the door, plastering a smile on her face. "Hey you two." Fuu took one look at Umi and frowned. The Knight's hair was mess, knotted and tangled and filthy. Her eyes were drawn with pain, and dark shadows dwelled beneath them. Her skin was no longer the beautiful pale shade she was known for, but tinged with yellow. "Umi? Are you ok?" She laughed, a rusty imitation of her former ringing one. "Me? I'm fine Fuu. Don't worry." Hikaru had entered the room, and stopped at her desk. Running a finger along its surface while the others were busy talking, Umi assuring Fuu of her health, she raised her hand and sniffed it. She recoiled at the strong smell of alcohol. "Umi! You've been drinking again!" Umi stiffened, her back to her. "No, I haven't Hikaru." Fuu glared at her. "Then why are you chewing gum? And why can even I small the whiskey from here?" Umi clenched her teeth, backing away slowly.  
  
"Out," she whispered. "Just...just leave me alone." Her two best friends gaped, their mouths opening and closing like fish, but as Umi persisted to repeat herself quietly, they finally left, shutting the door softly behind them.  
  
She slowly drank her pain away  
  
A little at a time But she never could get drunk enough  
  
To get him off her mind  
  
"Umi?" Hikaru whispered, stepping through the half-open door. She tiptoed through the dark room, until she entered the bedroom. Slipping through the door, she stopped as she saw the sight before her. Umi was leaning against the headboard, a bottle clenched in her hands. Tears made her entire face shine in the moonlight. She didn't even look up at Hikaru's entrance. She was talking to herself, in a drunken daze. Hikaru caught bits and pieces of it as she approached. "I loved.....the damn Council....can't live....never go on.....please...." "Shhh," Hikaru whispered. Umi still didn't look up, until Hikaru gently pulled the bottle out of her grasp. Then she turned to her, and gulped, and then burst out crying, burying her head in her hands. Hikaru sat beside her, one arm on her back, and gently rocked her back and forth, murmuring assurances.  
  
Until the night  
  
The little dark-haired girl and the golden-eyed boy ran through the palace, laughing. They skidded to a stop in front of the Water Knight's door, embellished with the symbol of Selece. "Aunt Umi!" they called, laughing. They slowly stopped as no answer came. "Aunt Umi?" Hikaru's little girl said again, quieter. As no reply came, they slowly backed away and began to run the other way, calling for their mothers. Fuu and Hikaru appeared swiftly, took one look at their children's face and sent them to Caldina. "But what about Aunt Umi?" the girl asked, tears in her eyes. "Don't worry dearling, she'll be fine," Hikaru assured with a swift hug. Sending the children away, the two Magic Knights approached the room. As they entered, the overwhelming smell of whiskey assaulted them, and Hikaru coughed. Going through the suite to the bedroom, they found her.  
  
She put the bottle to her head  
  
And pulled the trigger And finally drank away his memory Life is short But this time it was bigger  
  
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees  
  
Hikaru's slow tears fell from her face onto Umi's still form. Fuu gasped, and turned and ran, calling for her husband and Lantis. The men came with her, to find the Fire Knight gently cradling the limp body of Umi. She stroked the blue hair, weeping. Fuu sat beside her on the bed, taking Umi's hand. "Oh Umi," she whispered. "Why?"  
  
We found her with her face down in the pillow  
  
Clinging to his picture for dear life  
  
"Fuu," Ferio said softly. He picked up Umi's other hand, and gently took from it a photo. Hikaru sobbed harder, and Lantis gently drew her away, letting Umi fall back to the bed, her face at peace at last. Fuu looked at the photo with him, then completely broke down. Umi and Clef stood there, both in their finest at Fuu and Ferio's wedding. They were laughing and holding each other, not even looking at the camera. The picture was wrinkled and creased, faded from long use.  
  
We laid her next to him beneath the willow  
  
While the angels sang a whiskey lullabye  
  
"Good-bye Umi," Hikaru said, kneeling beside her tombstone. Fuu placed a bouquet of beautiful blue flowers beside it. No one else was there, because this was the Magic Knight's goodbye. Fuu slowly traced the writing on the stone with one finger while Hikaru read it aloud. "Umi Ryuuzuki. A brave Knight, who saved this world. A good friend, who helped others. A beloved, who died to be with him." Fuu wiped away a tear. "I miss you Umi." Hikaru suddenly pointed upwards. "Fuu! Look!" There in the sky, Umi and Clef embraced, both weeping, but finally free. The angels beside them sang, then gently enclosed them in their wings and took them away. Hikaru looked down now, and caressed the tops of both tombstones. "Good bye Umi. Good bye Clef." Fuu put an arm around Hikaru's shoulders, and squeezed. Hikaru nodded, a small smile on her face, then they both turned and walked away from the weeping willow, leaving the two graves in peace.  
  
Well? Depressing? I don't know why I thought of those two when I heard that song. And trust me, I love that couple. And yes, sorry I forgot to mention it but it is OVA Clef, not the regular Clef. Hope you enjoyed reading! Raven 


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